Bigu

Some people have brought up the issue of bigu. There is this phenomenon of bigu. It does not only exist in the community of cultivators, but also among a good number of people in our entire human society. Some people do not eat or drink for several years or over a decade, yet they live very well. There are some people who speak of bigu as an indicator of a certain level, while others take it as a sign of body purification. It is also claimed by some to be a high-level cultivation process.

In fact, it is none of the above. What is it, then? Bigu actually refers to a special cultivation method in a specific environment. Under what circumstance is it used? In ancient China, particularly prior to the establishment of religions, many cultivators employed the form of secret practice or solitary cultivation in remote mountains or caves far away from human settlements. Once they chose to do it this way, it would involve the issue of food supplies. If one did not use the bigu method, one could not cultivate at all and would die there of hunger or thirst. I went from Chongqing to Wuhan to teach the Fa, and I took a boat heading east on the Yangtze River. I saw some caves on both sides of the Three Gorges halfway up the mountains; many well-known mountains also have these things. In the past, after climbing into a cave with the help of a rope, a cultivator would cut off the rope to practice cultivation in the cave. If this person could not succeed in cultivation, he would die inside it. Without food or water, it was under this very special circumstance that he resorted to this particular cultivation method.

Many practices have gone through this inherited process, so they include bigu. A lot of practices do not include bigu. Today, the majority of the practices that have been made public do not incorporate bigu. We have said that one should be single-minded in one practice, and that you should not do whatever you humanly desire to. You might think that bigu is good and pursue it. What do you want it for? Some people think that it is good and become curious, and perhaps they think that their skills are good enough to show off. There are people with all kinds of mentalities. Even if this method is used in cultivation, one must consume one’s own energy to sustain this physical body. Therefore, it is not worth the effort. You know that particularly since the founding of religions, one has been supplied with food and tea during the period of sitting in trance or solitary cultivation in a temple, so there is not this issue of bigu. In particular, we cultivate amidst ordinary human society. You do not need to employ this method at all. In addition, if your school of cultivation does not include it, you should not thoughtlessly do something at will. If you really want to practice bigu, however, you may go ahead. As far as I know, usually when a master teaches a high-level practice and genuinely guides a disciple, and if one’s school of cultivation has bigu, this phenomenon may take place. Nevertheless, one cannot promote it in public; one typically takes the disciple away to practice it secretly or alone.

Now there are also qigong masters teaching bigu. Has bigu actually taken place? Not really, in the end. Who has succeeded with it? I have seen many people hospitalized, and quite a few people’s lives are in jeopardy. Then, why is there this situation? Doesn’t the phenomenon of bigu exist? Yes, it does. However, there is one point: Nobody is allowed to casually undermine the state of our ordinary human society—it is not allowed to be disrupted. Not even considering how many people in the whole country would not need to eat and drink after practicing bigu, if people in just the Changchun area no longer needed to eat and drink, I would say that this would save a lot of trouble! We would not need to worry about making meals. Peasants sweat so hard in the fields, and now nobody would need to eat. That would really make things much easier, as people would only work without having to eat. How could that be allowed? Would that be a human society? It is definitely forbidden, as such large-scale interference with ordinary human society is not allowed.

When some qigong masters teach bigu, a lot of dangerous situations occur. Some people are simply attached to seeking bigu, yet that attachment of theirs has not been removed, along with many other everyday people’s desires. Such a person’s mouth will be watering when he sees some delicious food. Once this desire surges, he cannot control it and will be anxious to eat the food. When his appetite arises, he will want to eat; otherwise he will feel hungry. However, he will throw up if he eats. Since he cannot eat, he will become very nervous and quite scared. Many people are hospitalized and many people’s lives are actually endangered. There are people who look for me and ask me to take care of these messy cases, and I am not willing to do it. Some qigong masters simply do things irresponsibly. Nobody is willing to take care of these problems for them.

Furthermore, if you get into trouble in practicing bigu, isn’t it from your own pursuit? We have said that these phenomena do exist, but they are not some “high-level state,” or some special reaction. It is only a practice method used under a special circumstance, so it cannot be promoted widely. A number of people go after bigu and classify it as so-called bigu or semi-bigu, and rank it into different levels. Some people claim that they only need to drink water, while others claim that they only need to eat fruit. All these are phony bigu, and as time passes, they are all bound to fail. A genuine cultivator will stay in a cave without drinking or eating—that is real bigu.

 

Stealing Qi

When speaking of stealing qi, some people will look pale as if a tiger has been mentioned, and they will be too scared to practice qigong. Because of gossip about the phenomena of cultivation insanity, stealing qi, and so on in the community of cultivators, many people are too scared to practice qigong or approach qigong. If it were not for these views, perhaps more people would be practicing qigong. Yet there are qigong masters with poor xinxing who specialize in teaching these things. That makes the community of cultivators quite chaotic. Actually, it is not as terrible as they have described. We have said that qi is only qi, although you may call it the “mixed primary qi” and this qi or that qi. As long as a person’s body has qi, he is at the level of healing and fitness and is not yet a practitioner. As long as he has qi, it means that his body has not yet been highly purified and so still has pathogenic qi—this is for sure. The person who steals qi is also at the level of qi. Among our cultivators, who would want that impure qi? The qi in a non-cultivator’s body is rather impure, though it can become brighter through qigong practice. So the place of an illness will show a very big cluster of high-density black matter. By continuing the practice, if the person has indeed healed the illness and become fit, his qi will gradually turn yellow. If he keeps practicing further, the illness will really be cured, and his qi will disappear as well. He will enter the state of the Milky-White Body.

That is to say, if one has qi, one still has illnesses. We are practitioners—what do we need qi for in our practice? Our own bodies need to be purified. Why would we need that impure qi? Definitely not. A person who wants qi is still at the level of qi. Being at that level of qi, he cannot distinguish good qi from bad qi, as he does not have that ability. The genuine qi in your body’s dantian cannot be taken away by him since that primordial qi can only be removed by someone with high-level abilities. As for the impure qi in your body, let him steal it—it is not a big deal. During practice, if I want to fill myself with qi, by just giving it a thought, my belly will be full of it shortly.

The Tao School teaches the standing exercise of tianzi zhuang while the Buddha School teaches pouring qi into the top of the head. There is a lot of qi in the universe for you to fill yourself with every day. With the laogong point and the baihui point open, you may fill yourself up with qi through your hands while focusing on the dantian. You will be full of it in a while. No matter how much you are filled with qi, what use does it have? When some people have practiced qi a lot, their fingers and bodies feel like they are swollen. When others walk up to such a person, they will feel a field around him, “Wow, you’ve practiced really well.” I would say that it is nothing. Where’s your gong? It is still a practice of qi, which cannot replace gong no matter how much qi one has. The purpose of practicing qi is to substitute the qi inside one’s body with good qi from outside, and to purify the body. What does one accumulate qi for? At this level, without any fundamental change, qi is still not gong. No matter how much qi you have stolen, you are still nothing but a big bag of qi. What use does it have? It is not yet transformed into high-energy matter. So what should you be afraid of? Let him steal the qi if he really wants to.

Think about it, everyone: If your body has qi, it has illnesses. Then, when the person steals your qi, isn’t he stealing your pathogenic qi as well? He cannot differentiate these things at all, since one who wants qi is also at the level of qi and will not have any capabilities. A person who has gong does not want qi—that is for sure. If you do not believe it, we can conduct an experiment. If a person really wants to steal your qi, you can stand there and let him steal it. You can focus your mind on filling your body with qi from the universe here while he is stealing your qi behind you. You will see what a good deal it is, as it will help you speed up your body purification, and you will not have to fill up and discharge qi from your body. Because he has a bad intention and is stealing something from others, though he has stolen something not good, he has also committed a deed that loses de. Therefore, he will give you de. It forms a circuit whereby while he takes your qi here, he gives you de over there. The person who steals qi does not know this—if he knew it, he would not dare to do it!

All those people who steal qi have bluish faces, and they are all this way. Many people who go to the parks for qigong practice aspire to remove illnesses, and they have all kinds of diseases. When one is healing an illness, one must try to discharge the pathogenic qi. Yet the person who steals qi will not discharge qi and will collect all kinds of pathogenic qi all over his body. Even his internal body becomes very dark. As he always loses de, his appearance is all black. With a large field of karma and great loss of de, he will become black inside out. Were the person who steals qi to find himself experiencing this change and realize that he is giving de to others by doing this foolish thing, he would not do it at all.

Some people have blown qi out of proportion, “If you’re in America, you can receive the qi that I emit.” “You can wait on the other side of the wall, and you’ll receive the qi that I emit.” Some people are very sensitive and can feel it when the qi is emitted. But qi does not travel in this dimension. It moves in another dimension where there is no such wall. Why can’t you feel anything when a qigong master emits qi in an open area? There is a barrier there in the other dimension. Thus, qi does not have as much penetrative power as people have described.

What really works is gong. When a practitioner can emit gong, he or she no longer has any qi and can give off high-energy matter, which is seen in the form of light by the celestial eye. When it reaches another person, it makes that person feel warm; it can restrain an everyday person. Nevertheless, it still cannot completely achieve the goal of curing illnesses, for it only has a repressing effect. In order to truly cure illnesses, there must be supernormal abilities. There is a specific supernormal ability for each disease. At the very microscopic level, each microscopic particle of gong assumes your own image. It can recognize people and has intelligence, as it is high-energy matter. If someone steals it, how can it stay there? It will not stay there and cannot be placed there, as it is not that person’s own property. As to all those true cultivators, after they develop gong they are looked after by their masters. Your master is watching what you do. When you try to take things from another person, that person’s master will not let it happen, either.

 

Collecting Qi

In teaching cultivation at higher levels, stealing qi and collecting qi are not issues that we will help resolve for everyone. Because I still have this intention of restoring the reputation of cultivation and doing some good deeds, I will disclose these bad phenomena that nobody addressed in the past. I want all of you to know it so that some people will not commit bad deeds all the time. Some people who do not know the truth about qigong are always scared to talk about it.

There is plenty of qi in the universe. Some people talk about the heavenly yang qi and the earthly yin qi. As you are also an element of the universe, you may go ahead and collect qi. But some people do not collect the qi in the universe. They specialize in teaching people to collect qi from plants. They have even summarized their experience: How and when to collect this qi, the qi of a poplar tree is white, or the qi of a pine tree is yellow. Someone also claims, “There was a tree in front of our house. It died because I collected its qi.” What kind of ability is that? Isn’t that a bad deed? It is known to all that when we truly cultivate, we want positive messages and to assimilate to the characteristic of the universe. Shouldn’t you practice Shan? In order to assimilate to the characteristic of the universe, Zhen-Shan-Ren, one must practice Shan. If you always commit bad deeds, how can you increase gong? How can your illness be cured? Isn’t this the opposite of what our cultivators should do? That is also killing lives and committing bad deeds! Someone may say, “The more you say, the more inconceivable it is—killing an animal is killing a life, and killing a plant is also killing a life.” Actually, it is so. Buddhism has talked about samsara. You might have reincarnated into a plant during samsara. That is how it is said in Buddhism. Here we do not address things this way, but we tell everyone that trees are also lives. Not only are they lives, but they also have very high-level thought activity.

To give an example, there is a person in America who specializes in electronic studies and teaches others how to use lie detectors. One day, an idea suddenly hit him. He put both ends of a lie detector to a dragon pot plant and watered its roots. He then found that the lie detector’s electronic pen had quickly drawn a curve. This curve was identical to that drawn when the human brain produces a brief second of excitement or happiness. At that moment, he was shocked. How could a plant have feelings? He almost wanted to yell in the streets, “Plants have feelings!” Enlightened by this occurrence, he continued to do research in this area and conducted many experiments.

One time he placed two plants together and asked his student to stomp one plant to death in front of the other plant. Then he took the other plant into a room and connected it to a lie detector. He asked five of his students to enter the room in turn from the outside. The plant had no reactions when the first four students entered the room. When the fifth student—who had trampled the plant—came into the room, before he even walked up to the plant, the electronic pen quickly drew a curve that only appears when a person is frightened. He was really shocked! This matter illustrates a very important issue: We have always believed that a human being is a high-level life with sensory functions that can distinguish things and with a brain that can analyze things. How can plants distinguish things? Doesn’t this indicate that they have sensory organs as well? In the past, if someone said that plants had sensory organs, thinking minds, and feelings, and could recognize people, this person would have been called superstitious. In addition to these traits, plants seem to have surpassed our people today in certain regards.

One day he connected a lie detector to a plant and wondered, “What kind of experiment should I do? Let me burn its leaves with fire and see how it reacts.” With this thought—even before the leaves were burned—the electronic pen quickly drew a curve the same as that created only when someone cries for help. This supersensory function was in the past called mind reading; it is a latent human function and an innate ability. Yet all of today’s humankind is degenerating. To regain it, you must cultivate from the start and return to your original, true self or to your original nature. Yet the plant has it, and it knows what is on your mind. It sounds quite inconceivable, but it was an actual scientific experiment. He conducted different experiments, including testing the capability of long-distance remote controls. Upon publication, his papers caused quite a stir throughout the world.

Botanists in different countries including those in our country have begun their research in this field, and it is no longer considered something superstitious. The other day I said that what our humankind today has experienced, invented, and discovered is sufficient to change our present textbooks. Due to the influence of conventional mentalities, however, people are reluctant to acknowledge them. Nobody is systematically organizing these things, either.

In a park in the Northeast, I noticed that a group of pine trees was dead. No one knows what kind of qigong some people were practicing there: They would roll all over the ground and afterward collect qi from the trees, one way with their feet and another way with their hands. Soon after, all the pine trees over there turned yellow and died. Was what they did a good deed or a bad one? From our practitioners’ perspective, that was killing. You are a practitioner. Thus, to gradually assimilate to the universe’s characteristic and release those bad things of yours, you must be a good person. Even from an everyday person’s perspective, it was not a good deed. It was abusive of public property, and it sabotaged the green vegetation and the balance of the ecological system. It is not a good deed from any perspective. There is plenty of qi in the universe, and you may collect it as much as you want. Some people have a lot of energy. Upon practicing at a certain level, they can indeed with one wave of their arms collect plants’ qi in a large area. Still, that is nothing but qi. No matter how much one collects it, what use does it serve? When some people go to a park, they do not do anything else. One claims, “I don’t need to practice qigong. It’s good enough to collect qi while I walk around, and my practice is then over. It’s adequate to just get qi.” They think that qi is gong. When people walk up to this person, they will feel that his body is quite chilly. Isn’t the qi from plants of the yin nature? A practitioner must maintain the balance of yin and yang. Although this person’s body smells like pine oil, he may still think he does well in his practice.

 

Whoever Practices Cultivation Will Obtain Gong

The issue of who practices gong and who obtains gong is a very important one. When I am asked about the advantages of Falun Dafa, I say that Falun Dafa can enable gong to refine practitioners and so reduce the amount of time in practice. It solves the problem of one’s not having time to practice and yet still being cultivated constantly. Meanwhile, ours is a genuine cultivation of mind and body. Our physical bodies will undergo great changes. Falun Dafa has yet another advantage, the greatest, which I have not mentioned previously. Only today are we unveiling it. Because it involves a major issue of historical significance and has quite an impact on the community of cultivators, nobody in history has dared to disclose it, and neither is anyone allowed to unveil it. Yet I have no choice but to make it known.

Some disciples have said, “Every sentence that Master Li Hongzhi has said is a heavenly secret and a disclosure of heavenly secrets.” We are, however, truly bringing people toward higher levels, which is to save people. Being responsible to everyone is a responsibility we are able to assume. Thus, it is not disclosing heavenly secrets. If one talks about it irresponsibly, that is a disclosure of heavenly secrets. Today we will make public this issue of who practices gong and who obtains gong. In my view, all practices today—including throughout history the practices in the Buddha School, the Tao School, and the Qimen School—have cultivated one’s Assistant Soul, and it has been the Assistant Soul that obtains gong. The Main Soul that we are mentioning here refers to our own minds. One should be aware of what one is thinking about or doing—that is your real self. But you do not know at all what your Assistant Soul does. Though you and it are born simultaneously with the same name and same appearance, and control the same body, it is not you in a strict sense.

There is a principle in the universe: Whoever loses gains. Whoever practices cultivation obtains gong. Throughout history, all practices have taught people to be in trance during practice, and that one should not think of anything. Then one should be in a deep trance until, in the end, one loses awareness of everything. A person may sit in meditation for three hours as though only a brief second had just passed. Others may admire this person’s ability for being in trance. Did he actually practice? He himself does not know whatsoever. In particular, the Tao School teaches that shishen dies and the Original Soul is born. What “shishen” refers to we call “the Main Soul,” and what “Original Soul” refers to we call “the Assistant Soul.” If your shishen really dies, you will indeed be dead, and you really will not have a Main Soul. Someone from another practice told me, “Teacher, when I practice I’m unable to recognize anyone at home.” Yet another person told me, “I won’t practice like others who do it early in the morning and late at night. After I go home, I lie down on a couch and exit myself to practice. While lying there I’ll watch myself practice.” I find it very sad, but it’s also not sad.

Why do they save the Assistant Soul? Lu Dongbin once made a statement, “I’d rather save an animal than a human being.” Indeed, it is extremely difficult for people to enlighten since everyday people are deluded by ordinary human society. With practical benefits before them, they cannot give up the attachment. If you do not believe it, upon the conclusion of this class, some people will walk out of this auditorium as everyday people again. If anyone offends them or bumps into them, they will not put up with it. After a period of time, they will not conduct themselves as practitioners at all. Many Taoists in history have realized this point: Human beings are very difficult to save, for their Main Souls are extremely lost. Some people have good enlightenment quality and will understand it right away with a hint. Some people will not believe you no matter what you say. They think that you are telling tall tales. We are talking so much about cultivating one’s xinxing, yet this person still does whatever he wants once he is among everyday people. He thinks that the real and tangible benefits within his reach are practical, and he will pursue them; the Fa from Teacher also sounds reasonable, but is impossible to put into practice. The human Main Soul is most difficult to save, while the Assistant Soul can see scenes in other dimensions. They therefore think, “Why should I save your Main Soul? Your Assistant Soul is also you. Isn’t it the same if I save it? Both are you, so whoever obtains it will be the same as your obtaining it.”

Let me describe specifically the methods of their practices. If one has the supernormal ability of clairvoyance, one will probably see this scene: When you sit in meditation, as soon as you are in trance, someone with the same appearance as yours will suddenly leave your body. If you try to differentiate, where is your own self? You are sitting right here. After you watch that person leave your body, the master will take this person to cultivate in a dimension transformed by the master. It may be in the form of a bygone society, today’s society, or a society in another dimension. The person will be taught the practice and go through numerous hardships for one or two hours daily. When the person returns from the practice, you will also wake up from trance. This is the case for people who can see.

It is even more pitiful if one cannot see. Such a person wakes up after two hours of sitting in trance while knowing nothing and in a daze. As a way of practice, some people fall asleep for two or three hours and completely give themselves away to others. This is completed intermittently with the sitting meditation for a certain amount of time daily. Another type is completed at one time. Everyone may have heard of Bodhidharma, who sat facing a wall for nine years. In the past, there were many monks who would sit for decades. In history, the record for the longest sitting time is over ninety years. Some even sat longer than this. Even with a thick layer of dust on their eyelids and grass growing on their bodies, they would continue sitting there. Some in the Tao School also teach it. In particular, some practices in the Qimen School teach sleep as a form of practice. One can sleep for decades without exiting the trance state, and one will not wake up. But who has practiced? The person’s Assistant Soul has gone out to practice. If he can see it, he will find the master taking his Assistant Soul off to practice. The Assistant Soul can also owe much karma, and the master does not have the ability to eliminate all of the karma. Therefore, the master will tell it, “You should practice hard here. I’ll be away and come back in a short while. You wait for me.”

The master knows exactly what will happen, but still must do it this way. Eventually a demon will come to scare the person or transform into a beauty to seduce it—there will be all kinds of things. The demon then realizes that it is truly unaffected. This is because it is relatively easier for the Assistant Soul to cultivate, as it can know the truth. Being desperate, the demon will make an attempt on its life for revenge, and indeed kill it. With that, its debt is repaid all at once. After death, the Assistant Soul will emerge like a waft of smoke drifting about and will be reincarnated in a very poor family. The child will begin to suffer from an early age. When it grows mature, the master will come back. Of course, the child cannot recognize him. Using supernormal abilities, the master will unlock its saved memory. It will at once recall everything. “Isn’t this my master?” The master will tell it, “Now, it’s time to start the practice.” Thus, after many years the master will pass on the teachings to it.

After passing on the teachings, the master will again tell it, “You still have many attachments to remove. You should go out to wander about.” Wandering around in society is rather torturous. It must beg for food and run into different kinds of people who will scold, insult, or take advantage of it. It might encounter all kinds of things. It will treat itself as a practitioner and balance well relations with others, always maintaining and improving xinxing. It will not be moved by the temptations of different benefits among everyday people. After many years, it will return from wandering around. The master will say, “You’ve already attained the Tao and have completed cultivation. If you don’t have anything to do, you may pack up and get ready to leave. If there’s still something to do, you may go ahead to finish that everyday people’s business.” After many years, the Assistant Soul returns. Upon the Assistant Soul’s return, the Main Soul also comes out of the trance state, and the Main Consciousness wakes up.

Yet this person has not actually practiced cultivation. That Assistant Soul has practiced it, so the Assistant Soul will obtain gong. But the Main Soul has also suffered. After all, the person has devoted his entire youth to sitting there, and this lifetime as an everyday person is all over. So what will happen? After awakening from trance, this person will feel that he has developed gong through his practice and has obtained supernormal abilities. If he wants to treat a patient or do something, he will be able to, as the Assistant Soul will try to satisfy him. Because this person is the Main Soul, after all, the Main Soul controls the body and makes decisions. In addition, he has spent so many years sitting here that this lifetime has elapsed. When this person dies, the Assistant Soul will take off. Each will go one’s own separate way. According to Buddhism, this person will still go through samsara. Since a great enlightened being has been successfully cultivated in his body, this person has also accumulated a lot of de. So what will happen? He might become a high-ranking official or make a big fortune in his next life. It can only be this way. Didn’t his cultivation end up in vain?

It has taken us much effort to get permission to articulate this issue. I have unveiled the eternal mystery—it was the secret of secrets that absolutely could not be disclosed. I have revealed the root of all different cultivation practices throughout history. Didn’t I say that it deeply involved historical considerations? These are the reasons. Think about it: Which practice or school does not cultivate this way? You cultivate this way and that way, but without obtaining gong. Aren’t you sad? So who’s to blame? Human beings are so lost that they are not enlightened to it, no matter what hints they are given. If something is explained from a high perspective, they will find it inconceivable. If something is explained from a low perspective, they cannot enlighten to what is higher. Even when I address it this way, some people still want me to cure their illnesses. I really do not know what to say to them. We teach cultivation, and we can only take care of those who cultivate toward high levels.

In our school of cultivation, it is the Main Consciousness that obtains gong. Then, will the Main Consciousness obtain gong if you say so? Who gives permission? It is not like that, for there must be a prerequisite. Everyone knows that our school of cultivation does not shun ordinary human society in cultivation, and neither does it avoid or run away from conflicts. In this complicated environment of everyday people, you should be clear-minded and knowingly lose in terms of interests. When your vested interest is snatched away by others, you will not go to compete and fight for it like others. With different xinxing interference, you will suffer losses. In this difficult environment, you will temper your will and improve your xinxing. Under the influence of different ill thoughts from everyday people, you will be able to reach above and beyond.

Think about it, everyone: Isn’t it you who suffers knowingly? Isn’t it your Main Soul that sacrifices? As to what you have lost among everyday people, haven’t you knowingly lost it? Then this gong should belong to you, as whoever loses, gains. Therefore, this is why our school does not avoid cultivating in this complicated environment of everyday people. Why do we cultivate amidst the conflicts of everyday people? It is because we ourselves are going to obtain gong. In the future, professional cultivators in temples will need to, in their cultivation, wander around among everyday people.

Some people have asked, “Don’t other practices at present also practice among everyday people?” But those practices are promoting healing and fitness. Nobody has truly, publicly taught a practice toward high levels except for those passing on their teachings to a single disciple. Those who genuinely teach their disciples have already taken them away to give them private instruction. Who, over the years, has talked about these things in public? Nobody has done this. Our school of cultivation has taught in this way, because this is exactly the way we cultivate, and this is exactly the way we obtain gong. Meanwhile, our school of cultivation gives hundreds and thousands of things all to your Main Soul to truly enable you to obtain gong yourself. I have said that I have done something unprecedented and have opened the widest door. Some people have understood these words of mine, as what I have said is really not inconceivable. As a person, I have a habit: If I have a yard and I say only an inch of it, you may still claim that I am boasting, but what was said is in fact only a tiny portion of it. Because of the great gap in levels, I cannot disclose to you a bit of higher Dafa.

Our school practices cultivation this way, enabling you, yourself to truly obtain gong. That is unprecedented since the beginning of heaven and earth—you may examine history. It is good because you will obtain gong yourself, but it is also very difficult. Amidst the complicated environment of everyday people and its interpersonal xinxing frictions, you are able to rise above and beyond—this is the most difficult thing. It is hard in that you knowingly lose your vested interests among everyday people. Amidst your critical self-interests, are you moved? Amidst interpersonal mind games, are you moved? When your friends or family suffer, are you moved? How do you weigh these things? Being a practitioner is just so difficult! Someone said to me, “Teacher, it’s enough to be a good person among everyday people. Who can succeed in cultivation?” After hearing that, I felt really disappointed! I did not say a word to him. There are all kinds of xinxing. One enlightens to however high one can; whoever enlightens obtains.

Lao Zi said, “The Tao is the way that can be followed, but it isn’t an ordinary way.” The Tao would not be precious if one could pick it up anywhere on the ground and succeed in practicing it. Our cultivation way teaches you to obtain gong through conflicts. Therefore, we should accord with everyday people as much as possible. Materially, you will not really be made to lose anything. But in this material environment you need to improve your xinxing. It is convenient because of this. Our school of cultivation is the most convenient, as one can practice it among everyday people instead of becoming a monk or nun. It is also most difficult because of this, as one will cultivate in this most complicated environment of everyday people. Moreover, it is the best because of this, for it enables one to obtain gong oneself. This is the most crucial element in our school of cultivation, and today I have disclosed it to everyone. Of course, when the Main Soul obtains gong, the Assistant Soul also obtains it. Why is this? When all messages, living beings, and cells in your body are obtaining gong, the Assistant Soul is certainly obtaining it as well; however, its gong level will never be as high as yours. You are the master while it is the guard of Fa.

While on this point, I would also like to add that there are many people in the community of cultivators who have always attempted to practice toward high levels. They have traveled everywhere and spent a lot of money. They have not found the well-known masters after having been all over the country. Being well-known does not necessarily mean that one really knows things well. In the end, these people have traveled back and forth, spending much money and effort for nothing. Today we have made public to you this great practice. I have already delivered it to your doorstep. It is up to you whether you can cultivate and make it. If you can do it, you may continue your cultivation. If you cannot do it or cannot cultivate, from now on you can forget about cultivation. Except for demons that will deceive you, nobody else will teach you, and in the future you will not be able to cultivate. If I cannot save you, nobody else can. As a matter of fact, finding a true master from an orthodox Fa to teach you is harder than climbing to heaven. There is nobody at all who cares. In the Dharma-Ending Age, even very high levels are also in the Last Havoc. Nobody is taking care of everyday people. This is the most convenient school of cultivation. In addition, it is practiced directly according to the characteristic of the universe. It is the quickest, most direct path, and it aims directly at one’s heart.

 

Heavenly Circuit

In the Tao School, the great and small heavenly circuits are taught. We will explain what the heavenly circuit is. The heavenly circuit that we usually refer to is the connecting of the two energy channels of ren and du. This heavenly circuit is a skin-deep heavenly circuit that accounts for nothing but healing and fitness. This is called the small heavenly circuit. Another heavenly circuit that is neither called the “small heavenly circuit” nor the “great heavenly circuit” is a form of heavenly circuit for cultivating in meditation. Starting inside one’s body, it goes around niwan and comes down internally to the dantian, where it goes around and moves up. It is an internal circulation. This is the real heavenly circuit for cultivating in meditation. After this heavenly circuit forms, it will become a very powerful energy current which then brings hundreds of energy channels into motion via one energy channel, so as to open up all other energy channels. The Tao School teaches the heavenly circuit, but Buddhism does not. What does Buddhism teach? When Shakyamuni taught his Dharma, he did not emphasize the practice of exercises, and neither did he teach them. Yet his practice also has his own form of transformation in cultivation. How does the energy channel move in Buddhism? It starts at and goes through the baihui point. Then it develops from the top of one’s head to the lower body in a spiral form and, in the end, through this method it drives hundreds of energy channels into motion and opens them up.

The central energy channel in the Tantric religion also serves this purpose. Someone has said, “There isn’t a central energy channel. So why can the Tantric religion develop this central energy channel?” In fact, when all energy channels in the human body are put together, they amount to hundreds or tens of thousands in number. They intersect vertically and horizontally just like blood vessels, and they even outnumber blood vessels; there are no blood vessels between the internal organs, but there are energy channels. They will be connected vertically and horizontally from the top of one’s head to different parts of the body. While they may not be straight initially, they will then be opened up to connect with one another, gradually expanding and slowly forming a straight energy channel. Using itself as the axis, this energy channel rotates by itself to spur into motion several conceptual wheels in horizontal rotations. Its goal is also to open up all energy channels in the body.

The cultivation in our Falun Dafa avoids using this method of one energy channel bringing hundreds of energy channels into motion. From the very beginning, we require that hundreds of energy channels be opened up and make simultaneous rotations. All at once, we practice at a very high level and avoid the low-level things. For some people to open up all the hundreds of energy channels with one energy channel, a whole lifetime may be insufficient. Some people must cultivate for decades, and it is very difficult. Many practices have said that one lifetime is not enough to succeed in cultivation, while there are many cultivators in high-level practices who can prolong their lives—don’t they talk about cultivating life? They can prolong their lives to cultivate, which will take a very long time.

The small heavenly circuit is basically for healing and fitness, while the great heavenly circuit is practicing for gong—that is when one truly practices cultivation. The great heavenly circuit that the Tao School refers to does not come as powerfully as ours, which opens up hundreds of energy channels all at once. The rotation of the great heavenly circuit in the Tao School refers to that of several energy channels that will travel once from the Three Yin and Three Yang channels of one’s hands to the bottom of one’s feet, to both legs, to the hair, and all over the entire body. That is the great heavenly circuit in motion. As soon as the great heavenly circuit is in motion, this is practicing gong. Therefore, some qigong masters do not teach the great heavenly circuit, for what they teach are only things for healing and fitness. Some people have also spoken about the great heavenly circuit, but they have not installed anything in your body, and you cannot open them up on your own. Without having a system installed, how could you easily open things up by just relying on your mind-intent? It’s like doing aerobics—how could that open them up? Cultivation depends on the efforts of the individual while transforming gong is done by the master. Only after the internal “mechanism” is fully given to you can there be this effect.

Throughout history the Tao School has considered the human body a small universe: It believes that the exterior of the universe is as immense as its interior, and that its exterior looks the same as its interior. This view seems inconceivable and is not easily understood. This universe is so big—how can it be compared with a human body? We are making this point: Our present physics studies elements of matter from molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, and quarks to neutrinos, but what size is further down the line? A microscope cannot detect it at that point, so what will the very microscopic particle be further down the line? It is not known. In fact, what our physics now understands is simply so far away from the smallest microscopic particles of the universe. Once one does not have this flesh body, one’s eyes will be able to see things with magnified vision and will be able to see things at a microscopic level. The higher one’s level, the greater the microscopic level one can see.

At his level, Shakyamuni brought up the theory of three thousand worlds, which states that in this Milky Way there are also people with flesh bodies like those of our human race. He also mentioned that a grain of sand contains three thousand worlds; this agrees with the understanding of our modern physics. What’s the difference between the rotation pattern of electrons orbiting a nucleus and that of Earth orbiting the sun? Therefore, Shakyamuni said that at the microscopic level, a grain of sand contains three thousand worlds. It is just like a universe with lives and matter in it. If this is true, think about it: Is there sand in the world of that grain of sand? Are there three thousand worlds in the sand from that grain of sand? Then is there sand in the three thousand worlds in the sand of the sand? If the search continues on downward, it will be endless. Therefore, even at the level of Tathagata, Shakyamuni made this statement, “It’s immense, without an exterior, and it’s tiny, without an interior.” It is so immense that he could not see the perimeter of the universe, yet so tiny that he could not detect the most microscopic particle of the origin of matter.

One qigong master has said, “In a sweat pore there is a city with moving trains and cars.” It sounds quite inconceivable, but we will find this statement not inconceivable if we really understand and study it from a scientific perspective. The other day when I spoke about opening the celestial eye, many people found this situation during the opening of their celestial eye: They were racing out along a tunnel in their foreheads as though they could not reach its end. Every day during their practice, they feel like they are racing out along this big road, with mountains and rivers on both sides. While running, they pass through cities and see quite a lot of people, and they may think that it is an illusion. Why is that? What is seen is quite clear and not an illusion. I have said that if one’s body is really that immense at the microscopic level, it is not an illusion. This is because the Tao School has always considered the human body a universe. If it is indeed a universe, the distance from the forehead to the pineal body will be more than 108 thousand li. You may charge toward the outside, but it is a very remote distance.

If the great heavenly circuit is fully opened in the course of cultivation, it will bring the cultivator a supernormal ability. What supernormal ability? You know that the great heavenly circuit is also called “the meridian heavenly circuit,” “the qiankun rotation,” or “the heche rotation.” At a very low level, the rotation of the great heavenly circuit will form an energy current, which will gradually become more condensed, transforming toward higher levels and becoming a large, high-density energy belt. This energy belt will have a rotating motion. In its rotation, we can, with a very low-level celestial eye, find that it can make qi exchange places inside one’s body. The qi from the heart may move to the intestines, or the qi from the liver may travel to the stomach... At the microscopic level we can see that what it carries is something very large. If this energy belt is released outside one’s body, it is the ability of telekinesis. One with very powerful gong can move something very big, and this is called the Great Telekinesis. One with very weak gong can move something very small, and this is called the Small Telekinesis. These are the types of telekinesis and their generation.

The great heavenly circuit directly involves practicing gong. Thus, it brings about different conditions and forms of gong. It will also bring us a very special state. What kind of state? Everyone may have read this phrase called “levitation in broad daylight” (bairi feisheng) in ancient books such as A Biography of Immortals, Danjing, Daozang, or Xingming Guizhi. It means that a person can levitate in broad daylight. In fact, let me tell you that a person can levitate once the great heavenly circuit is opened—it is just that simple. Some people will think that there should be quite a few people whose great heavenly circuits have opened after so many years of practice. I would even say that it is not inconceivable for tens of thousands of people to have reached this level, because the great heavenly circuit is, after all, only the beginning step in cultivation.

Then, why hasn’t anyone seen these people levitate or seen them take off into the air? The state of ordinary human society cannot be disturbed, and neither can the form of ordinary human society be casually disrupted or altered. How could it be allowed for everybody to fly in the air? Would that be an ordinary human society? This is one primary aspect. From another perspective, human beings do not live among everyday people for the sake of being human, but to return to their original, true selves. So there is an issue of being enlightened to it. If one sees that many people can indeed levitate, one will also want to cultivate, and there will not be the issue of enlightening. Therefore, if you can levitate through cultivation, you should not casually show it to others or demonstrate it to others, as they also need to cultivate. Consequently, after your great heavenly circuit is opened, you will not be able to levitate if your fingertip, toe tip, or a certain part of your body is locked.

When our great heavenly circuits are about to open, a situation will occur wherein some people will lean forward during the sitting meditation. Because the circulation in one’s back is opened better, one’s back will feel very light while the body’s front will feel heavy. Some people lean backward and feel their backs are heavy while the fronts of their bodies feel light. If all of your body is opened well, you will feel as if you are being lifted up, like levitating off the ground. Once you can truly levitate, you will not be allowed to levitate—but this is not absolute. Those who develop supernormal abilities are usually at both ends: Children do not have attachments, and neither do elderly people—especially elderly women. They can easily develop and preserve this capability. For men, especially young men, once they have a capability, they cannot help having the mindset of showing off. At the same time, they might use it as a means for competition among everyday people. It is thus not allowed to exist and will be locked up as soon as it is developed during practice. If one part of the body is locked, this person will not be able to levitate. This is not to say that you will be absolutely forbidden to have this state. You might be allowed to try it, and some people are able to keep it.

These situations occur wherever I give lectures. When I taught a class in Shandong, there were students from Beijing and Jinan. Someone asked, “Teacher, what’s happened to me? While walking, I feel like I’m leaving the ground. I also feel like I’m levitating while sleeping at home. Even my blankets take off like a balloon.” When I taught a class in Guiyang, there was a veteran practitioner from Guizhou who was an elderly woman. She had two beds in her room, with one bed by one wall and the other bed next to another wall. When she was sitting in meditation on the bed, she felt herself levitating, and when she opened her eyes she found herself having drifted to the other bed. She thought to herself, “I should return to my bed,” and so she flew back again.

There was a practitioner in Qingdao who was sitting in meditation on a bed during lunch break when no one was around in his office. As soon as he sat there, he levitated and moved harshly up and down, as high as a meter. He would come down after rising up, and this kept occurring. His blanket was even bounced to the floor. He was a little bit excited and somewhat scared. This up and down movement lasted the whole lunch period. Finally, the office bell rang, and he thought to himself, “I shouldn’t let others see this. They’d wonder, ‘What’s going on?’ I should quickly stop.” He stopped. This is why elderly people can conduct themselves well. If this had happened to a young person, when the office bell rang he would think, “You should all come to see me levitate.” This is where one cannot easily control one’s mentality of showing off, “See how well I’ve practiced—I can levitate.” Once one shows it off, the capability will be gone, as it is not allowed to exist this way. There are many such cases among practitioners everywhere.

We require that hundreds of energy channels be opened from the very beginning. By this day, eighty to ninety percent of our cultivators have reached the state where their bodies are very light and free of illness. At the same time, we have said that in this class you are not only pushed to this state where your body is completely purified, but also many things have been installed in your body so that in this class you can develop gong. It is the same as my raising you up and then sending you further ahead. I have been teaching the Fa to everyone in the class, and everyone’s xinxing has been changing constantly as well. Upon walking outside this auditorium, many of you will feel like different people, and your outlook will be guaranteed to change. You will know how to conduct yourselves in the future, and you will no longer be so befuddled. It is guaranteed to be this way. Therefore, your xinxing has already caught up.

Speaking of the great heavenly circuit, though you are not allowed to levitate, you will feel that your body is light, as though treading on air. In the past, you would be tired if you walked a few steps, but now it is very easy no matter how far you walk. You feel as if being pushed while riding a bike, and you are not tired when going upstairs—no matter how many floors there are. It is guaranteed to be this way. Those who read this book and cultivate on their own will also reach the state they are supposed to reach. I am a person who will not say what he does not want to say, but what I say must be true. Especially under this circumstance, if I do not tell the truth in teaching the Fa, if I make inconceivable statements, or if I speak aimlessly and casually, I will be teaching an evil Fa. It is not easy for me to do this thing, as the whole universe is watching. It is not permitted for one to deviate.

An everyday person will only know this great heavenly circuit, and that will be it. In fact, this is not enough. For the body to be replaced and transformed completely by high-energy matter as soon as possible, there must be another heavenly circuit that drives into motion all the energy channels in your body. It is called “the maoyou heavenly circuit,” and this is probably known by very few people. This term is occasionally mentioned in books, but nobody has explained it or told you. It is only discussed as theory, as it is the secret of secrets. We will disclose all of it to you here. It can start from the baihui point (or also from the huiyin point), and it comes out to move along the borderline between yin and yang. It then moves from the ear down to the shoulder, going along each finger, the side of your body, and then coming down to the sole of your foot. Then it moves up the inner side of one thigh and down the inner side of the other thigh, going across the sole of your other foot and coming up the other side of your body. It again moves along each finger and reaches the top of your head, completing a full circle. This is the maoyou heavenly circuit. Others can write a book about it, yet I have summed it up in a few words. I think that it should not be considered a heavenly secret, yet others find these things very precious and will not discuss them except when truly teaching their disciples. Although I have disclosed it, none of you should use mind-intent to guide or control it in the practice. If you do, you are not practicing our Falun Dafa. Genuine practice toward higher levels is in a state of wuwei and free of any mind activities. Everything is installed in your body, ready-made. They are automatically formed, and these internal mechanisms cultivate you; they will make self-rotations when the time is due. One day during practice your head might swing from side to side. If your head swings to this side, it is rotating this way. If your head swings to the other side, it is rotating that way. It rotates both ways.

When the great or the small heavenly circuits have been opened, one’s head will nod during the sitting meditation, and this is the sign of energy passing through. The same is true with the Falun heavenly circuit that we practice; we just practice it this way. In fact, when you are not practicing, it rotates by itself. It will constantly rotate forever; when you practice, you are reinforcing the mechanisms. Haven’t we talked about the Fa refining practitioners? Normally, you will discover that your heavenly circuit is always rotating. Though you are not practicing, this layer of energy mechanisms installed outside your body, that is, a layer of large external channels, is driving your body in practice—it is all automatic. It can also rotate in reverse, as it rotates both ways and is constantly opening your energy channels.

So what’s the goal of opening the heavenly circuit? Opening the heavenly circuit is not itself the purpose of the practice. Even if your heavenly circuit is opened, I would say that it is still nothing. If one’s cultivation continues further, through the method of the heavenly circuit one aims at opening hundreds of energy channels via one energy channel, and one can thereby open all the body’s energy channels. We have already started to do this. With further practice, one will find in the rotation of the great heavenly circuit that the energy channels will become very wide like a finger and quite broad inside. Because the energy has also become very powerful, after the energy current forms, it will become very wide and bright. This is still nothing. When will the practice be good enough? Hundreds of one’s energy channels must gradually become wider, with energy getting stronger and brighter. In the end, thousands of energy channels will join together and turn one’s body into one without any energy channels or acupuncture points; they will join together to make one whole body. This is the ultimate purpose of opening energy channels. Its goal is to have the human body completely transformed by high-energy matter.

At this point, one’s body will basically be transformed by high-energy matter. In other words, one has reached the highest level of In-Triple-World-Fa cultivation. The human flesh body will have been cultivated to the ultimate limit. At this time, one will experience another situation. What kind of situation? This person will have developed very rich gong. In cultivating an everyday person’s body or in the course of In-Triple-World-Fa cultivation, all human supernormal abilities (potential capabilities) and everything will be developed. However, while practicing among everyday people, most of them are locked up. In addition, one’s gong column will grow very high. All forms of gong will be reinforced by the mighty gong, becoming quite powerful. Yet they can only function in this dimension of ours, and cannot act on anything in other dimensions since they are supernormal abilities cultivated from our ordinary human flesh bodies. Nonetheless, they will already be very substantial. In different dimensions, and in terms of the body’s forms of existence in different dimensions, there will be quite a lot of changes. The things this body carries in each dimension will be quite substantial and appear very scary. Some people have eyes all over their bodies, and all the sweat pores in their bodies will become eyes. There will be eyes within this person’s entire dimensional field. Because it is gong from the Buddha School, some people will carry the appearance of Bodhisattva or Buddha all over their bodies. All forms of gong will have reached a very substantial extent. In addition, many living beings will manifest themselves.

At this time, a situation called “three flowers gathering above the head” will occur. It is a very obvious state that is also eye-catching. Even with a low-level celestial eye one can see it. One will have three flowers above the head. One of them is a lotus flower, but it is not the lotus flower of our physical dimension. The other two flowers are also from another dimension and are extraordinarily beautiful. These three flowers take turns rotating above one’s head. They will rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise, and each flower can also rotate by itself. Each flower will have a big pole as thick as the diameter of the flower. These three big poles will reach all the way to the top of the sky, but they are not gong columns—they are just in this form and are extraordinarily wonderful. If you can see them, you will be shocked as well. When one’s cultivation reaches this stage, one’s body will be white and pure, and the skin will be fair and delicate. At this point, one will have reached the highest form of In-Triple-World-Fa cultivation, yet this is not the ultimate end. One still needs to continue cultivation and move forward.

As one moves forward one enters the interim level between In-Triple-World-Fa and Beyond-Triple-World-Fa, called the state of the Pure-White Body (also known as the “Crystal-White Body”). When cultivation of the physical body has reached the highest form of In-Triple-World-Fa, it is only that the human flesh body has transformed into the highest form. When the whole body is truly in this form, it is completely composed of high-energy matter. Why is it called the Pure-White Body? It is because this body has already reached the absolute purity of the highest degree. When it is seen with the celestial eye, the entire body is transparent—just like transparent glass. When you look at it there is nothing, as it will exhibit this state. Put simply, this body is already a Buddha-body. This is because the body composed of high-energy matter is already different from our physical bodies. At this point, all supernormal abilities and supernatural skills will be abandoned at once. They will be placed in a very deep dimension, as they are useless and will no longer serve any function. One day in the future when you succeed in cultivation, you may look back and review your journey of cultivation by taking them out for a look. At this time, only two things will be left: The gong column still remains, and the cultivated Immortal Infant will have grown very large. Yet both exist in a deep dimension that cannot be seen by a person with an average-level celestial eye. All one can see is that this person’s body is transparent.

Because the state of the Pure-White Body is only an interim level, with further cultivation one will truly begin Beyond-Triple-World-Fa cultivation, also known as cultivation of the Buddha-body. The whole body will be composed of gong. By now one’s xinxing will have become stable. One will begin cultivation with a fresh start and develop supernormal abilities all over again, but they should no longer be called “supernormal abilities.” They should be called “divine powers of the Buddha Fa,” as they can act on all dimensions with their boundless power. As you continue to cultivate in the future, you yourself will know things at higher levels, how to cultivate, and the forms of cultivation that exist.

 

The Attachment of Zealotry

I will address an issue that is related to the attachment of zealotry. Many people have practiced qigong for a very long time. There are also people who have never practiced it, but who have pursued and pondered the truth and the meaning of human life. Once they learn our Falun Dafa, they will understand at once many questions in life that they have wished to understand but could not answer. Perhaps along with their minds being elevated, they will become very excited—this is for sure. I know that a genuine cultivator will know its value and cherish it. Yet this problem often occurs: Due to human excitement, one will develop unnecessary zealotry. It causes one to behave abnormally in one’s manner and in social interactions with others within an ordinary human environment. I would say that this is unacceptable.

The majority of people in our cultivation way will cultivate in ordinary human society, so you should not distance yourself from ordinary human society and you must cultivate with a clear mind. The relationships among one another should remain normal. Of course, you have a very high xinxing level and an upright mind. You will improve your own xinxing and your own level; you do not commit wrongdoing and only do good deeds—this is how you act. Some people conduct themselves as though they are either mentally abnormal or they have seen enough of this secular world. They say things that others cannot comprehend. Others will say, “How come a person who learns Falun Dafa becomes like this? It seems he has a mental problem.” Actually, it is not so. He is simply too excited and so appears to be irrational and without common sense. Think about it, everyone: Your acting like this is also wrong, and you have gone to the other extreme—again it is an attachment. You should give it up and cultivate while living normally like everyone else among everyday people. If while among everyday people others consider you infatuated, they will not deal with you and will keep a distance from you. Nobody will provide you with opportunities to improve xinxing, and neither will they treat you as a normal person—I would say that this is not right! Therefore, everyone must be sure to pay attention to this issue and conduct himself or herself well.

Our practice is unlike ordinary practices that make one absent-minded, in trance, or infatuated. Our practice requires you to cultivate yourselves with full awareness. Some people always say, “Teacher, once I close my eyes my body will swing.” I would say that it doesn’t necessarily need to be like that. You have already developed a habit of abandoning your Main Consciousness. Once you close your eyes, you put your Main Consciousness to rest, and then it disappears. You have already developed this habit. Why doesn’t your body swing while you sit here? If you maintain the state in which your eyes are open, will your body start swinging if you slightly close your eyes? Absolutely not. You think that qigong should be practiced this way and you have formed such a concept. Once you close your eyes, you will disappear without knowing where you are. We have said that your Main Consciousness must be conscious, because this practice cultivates your own self. You should make progress with a conscious mind. We also have a meditation exercise. How do we practice meditation? We require of everyone that no matter how deeply you meditate, you must know that you are practicing here. You are absolutely forbidden to be in a state of trance wherein you know nothing. Then, what specific state will occur? When you sit there, you should feel wonderful and very comfortable as though you are sitting inside an eggshell; you will be aware of yourself practicing the exercise, but feel that your whole body cannot move. This is what must occur in our practice. There is another state in which after sitting for a while the legs disappear, and one cannot recall where the legs went. The body disappears, the arms disappear, the hands also disappear—only the head is left. As one keeps practicing, one finds that the head disappears as well, leaving only one’s own mind, a little thought that one is practicing here. It is sufficient if we can achieve this state. Why is this? When one practices in this state, the body is being fully transformed, and it is the optimum state. We thus require you to achieve this state of tranquility. However, you should not fall asleep or lose consciousness, as in that case good things might be practiced by someone else.

Our practitioners should all be sure to never behave abnormally among everyday people. If you play a bad role among everyday people, others may say, “Why do those people who learn Falun Dafa all behave this way?” It is the same as undermining the reputation of Falun Dafa, so make sure to pay attention to this issue. In other matters and in the course of cultivation, one should be sure to not develop the attachment of zealotry—this mentality can be very easily taken advantage of by demons.

 

Cultivation of Speech

Cultivation of speech was also required by religions in the past. However, the cultivation of speech to which religions referred applied mainly to some professional cultivators—monks and Taoists who would not open their mouths to talk. Because they were professional cultivators, they intended to abandon human attachments to a greater extent. They believed that once one thinks, it is karma. Religions have classified karma as “good karma” and “sinful karma.” Regardless of whether it is good karma or sinful karma, from either the emptiness approach in the Buddha School or the nothingness teaching in the Tao School, it should not be produced. Therefore, they claimed that they would not do anything since they could not see the karmic relationship of affairs, that is, whether those matters were good or bad, or what karmic relationships existed. An ordinary cultivator who has not reached such a high level cannot see these things, so he will worry that though something appears to be good on the surface, it could be a bad thing once it is done. Therefore, one does his best to practice wuwei and will not do anything so that one can avoid producing karma. This is because once karma is produced, one must eliminate it and suffer for it. For instance, for our cultivators it is already predetermined at what stage they will become enlightened. If you unnecessarily insert something halfway along, it will cause difficulties to your entire cultivation. One thus practices wuwei.

The Buddha School requires the cultivation of speech. Namely, one’s speech is dictated by one’s thinking. Accordingly, one’s thinking has intentions. If a person’s mind wants to think a little bit, say something, do something, or direct one’s sensory organs and four limbs, it may be an attachment among everyday people. For example, there are conflicts among one another, such as “you’re good, but he isn’t good,” or “your cultivation is good, but his isn’t.” These are conflicts themselves. Let us talk about something that is common, such as “I want to do this or that,” or “this matter should now be done this way or that way.” Perhaps it will unintentionally hurt someone. Because interpersonal conflicts are all very complicated, one may unintentionally produce karma. As a consequence, one absolutely wants to seal off one’s mouth and say nothing. In the past, religions took the cultivation of speech very seriously, and this is what has been taught in religion.

The majority of our Falun Dafa cultivators (that is, except for those professional cultivators) cultivate among everyday people. They therefore cannot avoid leading a normal life in ordinary human society and interacting with society. Everyone has a job and must do it well. Some people must do their work by talking. So isn’t it a conflict? It is not a conflict. Why isn’t it a conflict? The cultivation of speech that we refer to is very different from that of others. Because of differences in cultivation ways, the requirements are also different. We should all speak according to a practitioner’s xinxing rather than create conflicts or say something improper. As cultivators, we must measure ourselves with the standard of the Fa to determine whether we should say certain things. What should be said will not be a problem if one complies with the Fa’s xinxing standard for cultivators. In addition, we must talk about and spread the Fa, so it is impossible not to talk. The cultivation of speech that we teach refers to: that which involves one’s reputation and personal gain that cannot be given up among everyday people, that which has nothing to do with the actual work of cultivators in society, the senseless gossiping among cultivators in the same school of cultivation, attachments that cause one to show off, hearsay or circulating rumors, or those discussions on some social issues that one is excited about. I hold that these are all attachments of everyday people. I think that in these areas we should watch what we say—that is the cultivation of speech we refer to. Monks in the past took these things very seriously, because once one started to think one would create karma. Therefore, they would cultivate “body, speech, and mind.” The cultivation of body they spoke of meant that one would not commit bad deeds. Cultivation of speech meant that one would not talk. Cultivation of mind meant that one would not even think. In the past, there were strict requirements for these things in professional cultivation in temples. We should conduct ourselves according to a cultivator’s xinxing standard. It should be fine as long as one grasps what should or should not be said.

 

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